An E-commerce website is an ideal method for those online merchants who want to add a buy button on their website. The products or services may be purchased at the website itself, by entering credit card or other payment information into a payment form on the site. This provision is of mutual benefit, the consumer gets what he or she wants &  the merchant can have an assured sale over the internet through this e-commerce websites. E-commerce websites have the sole purpose of selling products over the web through a secure procedure.

While most business websites serve as a shop window for existing businesses, it is increasingly the case that some websites are businesses in their own right; that is, the products they offer are only available for purchase on the web.